The reservation lottery for 457 Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts in Rajasthan was completed on September 23, 2026, as part of preparations for the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections. A total of 221 Pradhan posts have been reserved for women. In Jaipur, 11 of the 22 Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts have been reserved for women, while no Pradhan post in Udaipur has been reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The reservation lottery for 457 Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts was conducted on Wednesday. Under the process, 79 posts were reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), 93 for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 56 for Other Backward Classes (OBC). The remaining 229 posts were kept in the unreserved category.
The reservation process also provides for 50 per cent reservation for women. As a result, 221 Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts across the state have been reserved for women.
The lottery has determined the reservation category under which candidates can contest for Pradhan posts in different Panchayat Samitis in the upcoming three-tier Panchayati Raj elections.
The reservation of Pradhan posts for 22 Panchayat Samitis in Jaipur district has also been finalised. Eleven posts have been reserved for women across different categories.
Tunga and Aandhi have been reserved for the SC open category, while Rampura Dabri and Kotkhawada have been reserved for SC women.
Chomu and Kishangarh Renwal have been placed in the ST open category, while Amarsar has been reserved for ST women.
Under the OBC category, Madhorajpura and Sanganer have been reserved for OBC open, while Jobner and Mauzamabad have been reserved for OBC women.
The remaining Panchayat Samitis in Jaipur have also been assigned reservation categories for open and women candidates.
The reservation lottery for 20 Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts in Udaipur district has been completed. Badgaon has been kept unreserved.
No Pradhan post in Udaipur has been reserved for the OBC category. The ST category has received 15 Pradhan posts, including seven reserved for ST women. One post has been reserved for the SC category. Three posts have been reserved for general women, while another post has been kept unreserved.
According to the district administration, the reservation process for Zila Parishad members, Panchayat Samiti members and Pradhan posts has been completed. The reservation lottery for Sarpanch and Ward Panch posts is scheduled to be conducted at the sub-divisional level on September 24.
After the reservation lottery, all Panchayat Samiti Pradhan posts in Dungarpur, Banswara, Salumber and Pratapgarh districts have been reserved for the ST category.
Candidates contesting Pradhan posts in these districts will therefore fall under the ST category. Under the women’s reservation provision, the relevant posts may also be reserved for ST women.
Jodhpur district has also received 11 Pradhan posts reserved for women under the reservation arrangement.
Along with the Pradhan posts, reservation for 1,403 Zila Parishad member posts and 8,245 Panchayat Samiti member posts was also determined through the lottery on September 23.
Reservation under the SC, ST, OBC and women categories has been applied to these posts. Of the 1,403 Zila Parishad wards, 192 were recommended for reservation for OBCs, while 257 were identified for STs and 232 for SCs.
The reservation arrangement for Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad member posts provides 50 per cent reservation for women within each category. Accordingly, seats have been designated for women within the SC, ST, OBC and unreserved categories.
Reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions is determined through a rotation system. A Panchayat Samiti or ward reserved for a particular category in the previous term does not necessarily remain reserved for the same category in the current term.
Similarly, a seat that was unreserved in the previous term may be reserved for SC, ST, OBC or women in the current term. The reservation lottery is conducted in different stages under this rotation system.
The reservation process for Zila Parishad member, Panchayat Samiti member and Pradhan posts was completed on September 23. The reservation lottery for Sarpanch and Ward Panch posts will be conducted at the Gram Panchayat level on September 24 under the supervision of the concerned authorities at the sub-divisional level.
The reservation process for the posts of Zila Parishad Pradhans had already been completed on August 13, 2026.
The entire Panchayati Raj election process is targeted to be completed by November 15, 2026. Following the reservation lottery, the completion of the reservation process for Gram Panchayat-level posts will further determine the framework for the election schedule.
With the reservation process completed for the relevant posts, candidates and political parties can proceed with preparations according to the reservation categories applicable in their respective areas.
